Do not choose a Japanese text editor only because its feature list says “Japanese interface.” A more useful test is to turn the words you need every day into candidates and decide whether to accept, hold, or reject each group. This article organizes twenty confirmed Japanese labels into a five-purpose glossary—File, Edit, Search, View, and EPUB—and converts that glossary into an evaluation ballot.
“Confirmed” has a narrow meaning here. The twenty strings were found in the Japanese resources and command definitions, and they can be assigned to the five purposes below. It does not mean that all twenty were rendered in an actual menu, that no text was clipped, that no items overlapped, or that clicking each label reached the expected screen. Menu rendering and clipping remain unobserved reader checks in the current build.
A glossary of twenty confirmed Japanese labels
Group the labels by what you are trying to accomplish instead of memorizing one long translation list. This gives you a practical order for evaluating the interface.
| Purpose | Confirmed Japanese label | Meaning to evaluate |
|---|---|---|
| File | 開く… | candidate for choosing a manuscript file |
| File | フォルダを開く… | candidate for choosing a project folder |
| File | 保存 | candidate for saving the active manuscript |
| File | 別名で保存… | candidate for changing the name or location |
| File | 文字コード | candidate for choosing a character encoding |
| Edit | 取り消す | candidate for undoing the previous edit |
| Edit | やり直す | candidate for redoing an undone edit |
| Search | 検索… | candidate for searching the active file |
| Search | 置換… | candidate for replacing within the active file |
| Search | ワークスペース検索 | candidate for searching the whole workspace |
| Search | ワークスペース置換 | candidate for replacing across the workspace |
| View | 行番号（横書きのみ） | candidate for toggling horizontal-text line numbers |
| View | 編集記号を表示 | candidate for showing spaces, tabs, and line breaks |
| View | プレビューを表示 | candidate for opening the manuscript preview |
| View | 目次を表示 | candidate for opening the heading outline |
| View | 縦書き表示 | candidate for changing the active tab’s writing direction |
| EPUB | EPUB出力… | candidate for starting EPUB export |
| EPUB | シリーズ情報 | candidate for entering title and author information |
| EPUB | ファイル順序 | candidate for setting page and table-of-contents order |
| EPUB | 確認＆出力 | candidate for reviewing settings and proceeding to output |
This is a vocabulary-candidate table, not a record of twenty successful GUI journeys. The presence of 保存, for example, does not reveal where it is drawn, how it looks when disabled, whether a narrow menu clips it, or what appears after it is selected.
A five-purpose acceptance ballot
The ballot is not a localization score. Its purpose is to answer a personal question: can you complete your routine without translating the interface in your head? Test the most important candidates in each purpose first.
| Purpose | Priority labels | Accept when | Hold or reject when | Current evidence | Current vote |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| File | 開く…、保存、別名で保存… | you understand the terms, choose the intended manuscript, and return to your work after saving | the labels are hard to find, their meanings are ambiguous, or the destination cannot be judged | five strings confirmed; GUI unobserved | Hold until visual check |
| Edit | 取り消す、やり直す | you can distinguish undo from redo and follow the before-and-after state | the two actions are hard to distinguish or the changed state is unclear | two strings confirmed; GUI unobserved | Hold until visual check |
| Search | 検索…、置換…、ワークスペース検索、ワークスペース置換 | you can distinguish the active file from the whole workspace before replacing text | the scope is unclear or you cannot review the replacement target | four strings confirmed; GUI unobserved | Hold until visual check |
| View | プレビューを表示、目次を表示、縦書き表示 | you can predict the destination and return to the manuscript | the destinations are hard to distinguish or the return path is unclear | five strings confirmed; GUI unobserved | Hold until visual check |
| EPUB | EPUB出力…、シリーズ情報、ファイル順序、確認＆出力 | you can distinguish metadata, order, and final review before output | the page roles are unclear or the wording suggests output happens before review | four strings confirmed; GUI unobserved | Hold until visual check |
Every current vote is “Hold” because string evidence and rendered-interface evidence are different. A hold is not a failure of the labels. It prevents an unobserved visual candidate from being promoted to an accepted interface claim.
Evaluate File and Edit through return paths
For File tasks, include more than 開く… and 保存. Add フォルダを開く… for project-level work, 別名で保存… for changing the destination, and 文字コード for Japanese manuscript encoding decisions. Finding a word is only the first check. Acceptance also requires knowing what will be selected and how you return to the manuscript.
Evaluate 取り消す and やり直す as a pair. Add one disposable character to a copied sample, predict the state after each command, and record the two states separately. This makes the vote about meaning and recoverability rather than familiarity with one translation.
No such GUI journey is claimed as completed in this article. Menu position, disabled styling, shortcut rendering, and menu width are still unobserved.
Separate Search scope from View destination
The Search purpose contains two scopes. 検索… and 置換… are candidates for the active file, while ワークスペース検索 and ワークスペース置換 are candidates for the whole project. Write the expected scope on the ballot before selecting anything. Otherwise, confusion about the test design can be mistaken for a translation problem.
For View, prioritize プレビューを表示, 目次を表示, and 縦書き表示. They may appear near one another, but opening a destination and changing a display state are not the same action. Record three observations: where you expected to go, where you actually arrived, and how you returned to the manuscript.
This is also where visual checks belong. Observe whether the full label is rendered, whether the long 行番号（横書きのみ） text is clipped, and whether adjacent items overlap. Those outcomes are not included among the confirmed facts in this article.
Evaluate the four EPUB terms as a sequence
Treat EPUB出力… as the entrance, シリーズ情報 as publication metadata, ファイル順序 as manuscript order, and 確認＆出力 as the final review candidate. The sequence matters because it tells you what decision should come next. A list of four translations without that relationship is harder to use.
Use a copy containing one short chapter, not a production manuscript. Before opening the interface, write the expected role of each candidate on the ballot. In the current build, visually check whether the label is fully displayed, whether nearby guidance clearly relates to the input fields, and whether you can return to the previous step. EPUB rendering quality and retailer acceptance belong on separate ballots; they are not evidence for Japanese-interface usability.
How to complete the ballot in the current build
Choose one purpose that matters today. You do not need to inspect all twenty labels at once. If you choose File, move only 開く…, 保存, and 別名で保存… to the active ballot.
Then inspect the current interface at full size. Record the complete label, menu position, clipping or overlap, destination after selection, and return path. Only this observation can support a vote about menu rendering. Resource strings alone cannot.
Finally, select Accept, Hold, or Reject for that purpose and give one reproducible reason. “Japanese, therefore accepted” is too broad. “The active-file and workspace search labels are distinguishable before replacement” is specific enough to test again. If the destination or rendered text cannot be judged, keep the purpose on hold.
Conclusion: choose twenty labels through five jobs
A Japanese text editor interface is useful when it supports your actual jobs, not when it merely has a large translation count. The twenty confirmed Japanese strings can be organized as five File, two Edit, four Search, five View, and four EPUB candidates.
Actual menu rendering, clipping, overlap, position, and click destinations remain unobserved. Use the glossary to narrow the candidates, then complete the five-purpose ballot in the current build before accepting the interface for your workflow. Current Mac product information is available on the Rune Studio website.